I consider myself a lifelong reader. I turn to books in good times, and bad; when I am energized, when I am tired; when I want to learn, escape, or bond with other readers. What is the first step toward becoming a lifelong reader? It's falling in love.
Kids need to find that first book—the one—that will open a world of joy and a world of possible. In honor of Valentine's Day, we got together to talk about the books that were love-at-first-read, the book that was the one.
For me, it was the picture book The Tyger Voyage (Richard Adams & Nicola Bayley) which had a fantastical, strange story, and equally strange and beautiful illustrations. It was from reading The Tyger Voyage that I first started to really think about how wild imagination can be.
And when I was fourteen, I discovered Celine by Brock Cole. It was the one book I read as a teenager in which I felt really and truly at home. The main character, Celine, was strange, funny and artsy, and just the sort of girl I needed to read about at that time. I still go back to it sometimes, and I still laugh at the jokes.
Alex loved Archie comics, the characters Betty and Veronica in particular: "My grandmother would buy me a stack of them when I was visiting her in Florida. I remember how excited I would get for bed time because I knew that meant I could get cozy and read the adventures of my favorite girls, Betty and Veronica!"
For many kids and adults worldwide, the Harry Potter series was what first inspired a true love of reading. Brittany writes: "For me, it was love at first read when I first ventured into the magical world of Harry Potter. Over the course of seven Harry Potter books, I grew up with the characters and related to them as they struggled with school, adulthood and friendships. I’ve read the entire series twice and I might even attempt a 3rd time! J. K. Rowling’s works encouraged me to be unafraid of 1,000+ pages. In fact, the more pages the better!"
Morgan also mentioned the power of book series in particular: "While lots of books helped set me on my course of becoming a lifelong reader, it’s truly The Baby-Sitters Club (and, to a lesser extent, Sweet Valley Twins) series that serves as a turning point. I always loved books, but with a series like BSC I was able to read about characters I loved over and over again, and to really become a part of their world. (It’s why I love series more than standalones to this day!)"
Last, Mike has a series for every stage of life. "The Chronicles of Narnia when I was in 2nd grade; Goosebumps for most of my middle school experience; Harry Potter in college—I read book 6 in under 24 hours; Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin in my adulthood."
What was "the one" for you? Let us know at #loveatfirstread, where we'll be talking book love all week!
Photo: Vlastimil Koutecký
